PR for probate goes rogue

Marcon

The_Walker said:

I find it odd that your father would leave everything other than the marital home to his children. 

He tried to leave the home to us too, but it didn't stand up legally for technical reasons. Obviously his intention was to save the home from being taken away to pay for care costs.

Nothing odd about it. Why shouldn't a mother have the benefit of the best quality care available in the last years of her life?

poppystar

The_Walker said:

I find it odd that your father would leave everything other than the marital home to his children. 

He tried to leave the home to us too, but it didn't stand up legally for technical reasons. Obviously his intention was to save the home from being taken away to pay for care costs.

When you say a substantial inheritance are we talking over £325k?  

No it's only 30K, though to me that is "substantial"

So despite there being another property the inheritance is only 30k? Is someone else the beneficiary of the other property then?

The family home Pete is living in - is that the one left to your mother and on which you gave money for work to happen? ? In which case it could be sold to pay her nursing home fees since if she was left no money presumably this will have to happen. Is this why he is reluctant for her to be in a home? 

The_Walker

So despite there being another property the inheritance is only 30k? Is someone else the beneficiary of the other property then?
The probate hasn't finished, and the that house doesn't seem to be selling. So 30K is just what's available so far.
The family home Pete is living in - is that the one left to your mother and on which you gave money for work to happen? ? In which case it could be sold to pay her nursing home fees since if she was left no money presumably this will have to happen. Is this why he is reluctant for her to be in a home?
Yes he's living in the family home which our mother now owns, & which I allowed money to be released for. I have arranged a deferred loan from the council based on this family home. It doesn't have to be sold immediately, I assume it will have to be though when my mother dies to pay off the loan. And yes I believe that is why he is reluctant for her to remain in nursing home care. It's about the money. I don't want to lose money any more than anyone else does, but my current priority is making sure my mother gets the care she needs in her final years. I think she deserves that.

Keep_pedalling

How much do you think this other house is worth? If the house and cash exceed his NRB (£325k) then a full IHT return should have been made and IHT would be payable.

Hopefully your mother has reasonable savings herself otherwise your father will have left her asset rich but cash poor which frankly was a foolish thing to do. If that is the case In your and your sibling’s situation I would be looking to undo that with a deed of variation in favour of your mother.

The_Walker

How much do you think this other house is worth? If the house and cash exceed his NRB (£325k) then a full IHT return should have been made and IHT would be payable.

Hopefully your mother has reasonable savings herself otherwise your father will have left her asset rich but cash poor which frankly was a foolish thing to do. If that is the case In your and your sibling’s situation I would be looking to undo that with a deed of variation in favour of your mother.

My father didn't leave her anything. His will failed to give the family home to myself and Pete on a technicality only. I did mention that earlier. I will look into the IHT issue.

The_Walker

The other house togther with all assets comes to about 200K, so well below the IHT limit. But no doubt the solicitors handling the probate will have considered that already.

I noted from the Govt website that since the family home was passed from husband to wife, it's exempt from inheritance tax.

The_Walker

Newly_retired said:

Were you both named as executors in the will? Did you renounce, or have you reserved powers? If the latter, you can reverse that.
Which of you has LPA for your remaining parent? Or if both, is that jointly and severally?

My solicitor got back to me and said a Grant had been issued giving my sibling control as represantative, and that I should get independent legal advice if I want to reverse it.

That's an interesting response. I can understand them not wanting the hassle of a reversal. But I have to consult with another solicitors? Why can't they deal with the issue?

elsien

If you have reserved your powers and probate has been granted showing that your powers are reserved, you can apply for double probate. To do this, you need to show what work on the estate is left to be done.
https://www.rochelegal.co.uk/news/what-is-double-probate-and-when-is-it-needed/

So if your sibling is not really communicating with you, then you’re going to have a hard job showing where the gaps are that you need to step in with. Anything more than that is probably fall into dispute territory, which is where the separate legal advice will come in. The solicitor doesn’t want to get in the middle of two warring executors.